The Battle of Lazzaro: The Ground Campaign (Part 1)

Posted on Mon Jul 28th, 2025 @ 2:04am by Captain Patricia Cooke & I-402 & I-400 & Boso Gane & Oko Gane & Commander Katrina Chance & Lieutenant Akira Kogami & Lieutenant Sara'draphia T'eseri & Lieutenant Remy Boudreau & Gunnery Sergeant Roy Erbun

1,407 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Impending Midnight
Location: Planetoid Lazzaro
Timeline: Immediately following 'Tardy to the Party'

When the away team materialized at the designated coordinates, they found an orderly evacuation underway: Local authorities were working with military personnel from the various galactic powers to oversee the evacuation of residents. As of the present moment, there weren't any I-400 drones in sight.

"I-400 has a strange fascination with a Tal Shiar memorial." Boso explained, pointing northward. "It was built where the planetoid's north pole was at the time: If there's any place on this planetoid where I-400 has set up a base of operations, it'd be there."

"How can you be sure? Artificial Intelligence doesn't think like us organics, it's cold, calculating, logical" Sara said, looking around at the evacuation. "I wouldn't be surprised if there was a unit or two here somewhere"

Katrina listened to those around her as she took in the evacuation they'd beamed into the middle of, then nodded slightly at Bozo. Sara's question was a valud one, but Katrina knew that this AI was far from perfect either.

"Even artificial intelligences are fallible, Doctor," Katrina pointed out. "Plus, I believe Mr. Gane has experience with I-400 itself. Am I correct?"

"Yes, Ma'am" Boso nodded. Many of the faces who were present weren't the same ones whom I-400 had ordered him to 'rip apart from the inside,' so he could probably get away with omitting some details: "My sister and I were her... Accomplices."

"Accomplices? Surely this must be a joke, Commander." Sara said, turning to Katrina, "you allow a former associate of our enemy to accompany the away team? we cannot trust this person."

Katrina gave the doctor a sympathetic look as she once again voiced her displeasure. She could understand where Sara was coming from and frankly, she knew the choice was a questionable one to say the least. At the same time, her new commander didn't overrule her, which she could've done at any time.

She looked between Sara and the rest of her team, making eye contact with each of them before her gaze moved back to the objecting doctor. "This is no joke, Doctor," she said calmly. "I hear your concerns and I understand them. But they are here, now. They have first hand knowledge of how I-400 thinks, and we need that. Not just to protect ourselves, but the rest of the Federation, perhaps the alpha quadrant itself. If they betray us we're dead, yes. But if we can't anticipate I-400, we're dead. And then, those we care about are just as dead. I realize it is a gamble, but I have faith in those under my command that they will not fail us. But if you are not comfortable with the decisions I have made, you may return to the Missouri and send another medical officer in your place. I will not put you on report for doing so."

Taking a deep breath in, Sara forced herself to push her concerns to one side. Katrina was right, although this was a gamble, it was probably their best bet at stopping this I-400. Releasing her breath in a sigh of resignation, Sara shook her head, "no, it is fine Commander. I would not ask any of my staff to do something I myself am not willing to do. I will fulfill my duty on this mission." she said, looking over at Boso with suspicion.

Kat gave a nod to the doctor, satisfied. She knew this was a difficult ask, which was why she was willing to excuse her on ethical grounds. But Sara opted to face her fears instead, which she thought spoke well of the woman's character. Looking to I-402, she asked, "What's the quickest way to get to I-400, in your estimation?"

I-402 blinked.

"The memorial that Mr. Gane speaks of lies several clicks to the northwest of our current location:" She stated, pointing in the indicated direction. "Whatever I-400 has been building, the heart of it will likely be located there."

"But why some forgotten memorial erected by the Tal Shiar?" Akira spoke up. "What's the significance?"

"The significance is that it was built at the precise coordinates of the planetoid's north pole at the time of its construction." Oko responded. "When we first met, I-400 said she 'liked' that about it. Something pertaining to the 'geometry of power.'"

"Is that power something we could use against I-400 itself?" Katrina proposed.

"I do not have all the answers, but..." I-402 replied. "If reports indicate that I-400 has figured out a way to configure a planetoid for flight, then that memorial might be the 'bridge,' so to speak."

"So what'd happen if we intercepted I-400 at the Memorial?" Akira proposed. "Deny her that 'geometry of power' that she's so fond of?"

"There's only one way to find out..." I-402 simply responded, motioning in the direction of the memorial's location.

Katrina gave a slight nod at I-402's response, then smiled slightly. "After you, forty two," she quipped, in attempt to keep things light.

'Hey, hey!' came a shout from their left, a tall, dark-haired man in sciences teal loping up to meet them. 'Y'all from the Missouri?' he asked, slightly out of breath.

"Yes." I-402 nodded. "And you are...?"

'Re -,' the man began, before forcefully stopping himself with a clenched jaw, then relaxed, and smiled. 'Theo Boudreau, scientific marvel, and newly assigned to the Missouri.' He shrugged and drawled, 'except I'm down here and she's up there. And a whole lot of chaos betwixt us.'

"No chaos yet," I-402 responded, looking around. "But, with I-400 afoot, I have no doubt that soon there will be. I'd suggest you stick close, Boudreau."

'I intend to, uh Miss?' Theo prompted the woman for her name, finding it impolite that she would know his name, but not he hers.

"Oh, uh, I-402." I-402 responded. "You'll have to forgive my unfamiliarity with your mannerisms. I was just created yesterday."

---

[Tal Shiar Memorial]

If there was a word to describe the memorial erected by the Tal Shiar, nondescript wasn't it: The memorial itself featured Romulan architectural flare, with most of the memorial resting upon a platform that raised it off the ground. Engraved on the memorial was Romulan text of some sort:

Katrina gazed around the memorial. In part, she was taking everything in. It was both splendid and anti-climactic all at once. The memorial was a sight to behold. But where was I-400? Where were her drones? How many of them were there? She frowned thoughtfully and continued to examine her surroundings critically, allowing the others to take them in.

Keeping a close eye on both I-402 and Boso, Sara quickly scanned their surroundings with the practiced eyes of a hunter. She didn’t like the idea of walking right into what might be the enemy’s seat of power, but she’d learnt to trust the judgement of the senior officers in Starfleet.

"Come to pay your respects?" A sinister voice suddenly interrupted the away team's musings."

"How I wish we were here on pleasure," Katrina replied, turning to face the being she swiftly realized was I-400. "It is a spectacular monument, isn't it?" She clicked her tongue and feigned a pout. "Alas... as much as I enjoy this antagonistic repartee, we have some business to take care of, and not a lot of time to do it in. But I'm sure you knew that already."

"You're stalling to protect the people:" I-400 surmised.

"Bingo, rat fink," Akira responded. "Didn't think this little old galaxy would be going down without a fight, now did you?"

Sara levelled her phaser at the figure before them. This thing looked nothing like the automatons she’d fought before. It seems more sophisticated, and as such more dangerous. She’d have to keep on alert around it.

"Ironic:" I-400 chuckled. "The galaxy wants me to save it, but they suddenly want to resist me doing it? Makes me wonder if this galaxy actually wants to be saved..."

Suddenly, a previously unseen structure burst from the ground, splitting open like a flower and slamming down, cracking the memorial as it did so.

"You're not the only one stalling for time..."

To be continued...

 

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